Producers and cast from Supergirl took the stage on Monday at the 2015 TCA Summer Press Tour where they revealed that three more notable DC Comics characters are headed to the series: General Sam Lane, Red Tornado and the villain Non.

While the producers had no casting news for these characters yet, they did promise that Non -- played in Superman: The Movie and Superman II by Jack O'Holloran -- would be a "slightly different take on the character." For those who need a quick refresher, Non, a Kryptonian grunt, is traditionally a silent strongman. Red Tornado is an android superhero and General Sam Lane is Lois Lane's father and a US Army general. Jenna Dewan-Tatum was recently announced as playing Lucy Lane, Lois' sister, on Supergirl.

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Superman exists on the series and is mentioned, referenced and briefly seen in the pilot (albeit in a shadowy manner), but currently, the producers don't plan to directly bring him onto the series and instead focus on Kara and her adventures. However, they acknowledged the strong influence Richard Donner's classic Superman films had on their re-imagined world.

"When Dick Donner sees this show, I think he’ll be really proud that he inspired it,” DC Entertainment's chief creative officer Geoff Johns said. As if to further the point, the panel also noted that Peter Roth, the president and chief content officer of Warner Bros. said that seeing incoming Supergirl star Melissa Benoist auditioning for the role was the "closest feeling" he has had since first seeing Christopher Reeve as Superman.

Executive producers Andrew Kriesberg and Greg Berlanti, who are also behind DC-based TV series The Flash and Arrow over at The CW, noted that in a kismet way, Benoist was the first actor they saw for this role, just as Grant Gustin was the first actor they saw for The Flash, and Stephen Amell was the first actor they saw for Arrow. As Berlanti pointed out, his experiences on those shows means he's had to deal with pre-series judgements and opinions from comic fans following initial photos and promos for those shows in the past. Supergirl is just the latest in a chain and it's business as usual.

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"We always try to imagine what the show is if you remove the super powers from them," he went on. "We added a workplace element because that hadn't been showcased, and also an adult, sibling relationship."

Those relationships will be at the core of the series, the EP continued, and any action scenes they add in afterwards are just gravy.

Elaborating more on some fan concerns that the series would lean too heavily into romance or other criticisms before Supergirl has even debuted, Berlanti remarked, "I would just say we experienced it with any show we introduce." He said that with Arrow, The Flash and now Supergirl, "What’s interesting to us, always, is we have similar formulas for all the shows, regardless of the gender or characters. You want to allow for a show that will allow for different kind of stories. Action and romance and all the things you’ve come to love about the comics themselves.”

He recalled, “The very first time we showed a picture of Amell in the Arrow outfit, there was initial conversation about that,” but that he hoped, when it came to comics fans, “Once they watch a couple episodes, they can determine what they enjoy about the show and we can see what we can improve on. People come for action and end up staying for the characters and vice versa. It’s a healthy dialogue and I think all of those things are great. Hopefully they check it out themselves and determine themselves what they think about it.

He added that all of these criticisms feel very similar to what they went through with Arrow and The Flash. “Once they see the pilot – hopefully legally! – they can determined themselves what they think is exciting about it.”

"If you remove the action set pieces, [the Donner films] had something that imprinted on our brains at that time in our lives. There was a relatability. Melissa to me is the most evocative since Christopher Reeve in terms of that."

"The first time Melissa walked on the set wearing this suit, none of us said, 'Oh there's an actor wearing a suit,'" executive producer Ali Adler added. "It was 'Oh, there's Supergirl!'"

Supergirl debuts Oct. 26 at 8:30 p.m. ET before settling into its permanent time slot on Nov. 2 at 8 p.m. ET.